The Greens in Lyne
Electorate are the party for the future
Climate change
We need to stop
burning fossil fuels as soon as possible & the strategies for
this are energy efficiency measures &
adoption of renewable energy,
Energy efficient
passive solar & naturally ventilated homes must become the norm,
through retro-fitting & appropriate guidelines for new
construction. Housing allotments in new land developments should be
designed to facilitate these low energy houses
By merely replacing all
household off-peak hot water systems in NSW with solar or heat
pumps, one coal fired power station could be closed
All renewable
energy sources for the coast should be explored & developed if
viable; expand proven technologies such as rooftop photovoltaics &
microturbines; establish pilot projects in microhydro & wave
energy. The Dorrigo Plateau has been identified as a significant
microhydro producer (see http://www.pelena.com.au/)
Transport
Investment in rail
should take precedence over roads for long distance freight as it
requires just 10% of the fuel used by trucks, in addition to the
safety benefits for other road users
Public transport &
purpose-built off-road cycleways should be given high priority in
local planning, NOT just more roads
We have passed Peak Oil
so must find renewable energy sources for future transport
We should be
improving east-west transport links to enhance the coast as a
recreational zone for the inland population & to promote the
“foodshed” concept- by this we mean trade in food between the
inland & coast allowing each area to
optimise it’s comparative advantage
Education
& Youth
A well funded
public education sector with opportunities
for all
Youth allowance
availability should not predjudice rural & regional youth when
they wish to advance their education through study in urban centres
The younger members of our
community are those who will suffer the most by inaction on climate
change & other environmental issues, we therefore take seriously
any suggestions & inputs put forward by youth.
The
economy
&
sustainable jobs
We need to embrace
sustainable local food production, taking
advantage of our comparative advantage in a mild climate &
fertile soils.
Land planning
should place high priority on preserving this
valuable natural resource; housing development must not be allowed
on prime agricultural land
Food processing,
such as Mentges Master Meats in Taree &
local artisan cheese & yoghurt makers create local employment &
give customers a fresh & healthy food
Food marketing
with low key shopping centres similar to Belconnen Town Market
(www.belconnenmarkets.com.au) in Canberra where family owned small
scale outlets provide the bulk of food retailing. This will
complement the number of farmers markets in our area which are not
always accessible or convenient for householders
Tourism favouring
small-scale locally owned facilities is a sustainable activity for
employment & wealth creation. Local high
quality food will enhance tourism.
The forest
industry needs to run in a sustainable fashion involving community
input; including small scale value adding to
forest products to provide local employment.
Fishing policy
needs to provide a balance between the
competing interests of recreational fishers who advance tourism;
professional fisherman who need adequate incomes & provide the
public with fish; along with the environmental challenge of
maintaining viable fish stocks.
Democracy
We support
proportional representation in the House of
Representatives for all states and local government so that the
structure of parliament reflects the true wishes of the voters
(see http://lesslie.com.au/
for a possible model).
Wards are
supported in local government to improve representation
& a simplified transparent vote counting procedure which people
can understand.
No corporate
or organistional donations to political parties, similar to Canada
(see
http://canadaonline.about.com/od/federalelections/a/contributions.htm
& http://www.democracy4sale.org/
Health & aged care
Increased aged care
facilties to relieve hospital ;
improved &
decentralised primary health care to reduce
pressure on hospitals;
promotion of healthy
eating & exercise
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